This invention relates to a cartridge and cartridge/nozzle combinations for dispensing fluent material into creases of garments or fabrics. The cartridge or cartridge/nozzle combination has a dispensing aperture and the fluent material is of such viscosity that a pressure is needed to cause the material to be dispensed through the dispensing aperture.
Cartridges of this type have been known for at least fifteen years, and one form of known cartridge is set forth in European Patent No. 0059413, and is used in the application of crease setting composition (which forms the fluent material) to garment creases to render them more permanent. The crease setting composition originally used typically was a synthetic resin based material which is thermosetting so that it cures when heated to render the crease more permanent, but nowadays it is more usual to use a naturally setting composition, which is still resin based. The known cartridge comprises an elongate, plastic material body which contains the resin and has a piston therein at one end of the body. At the other end, the interior communicates with a transverse bore, and into the bore is fitted (initially) a plug which prevents the resin from leaking out of the bore when the cartridge is not in use. When the cartridge is to be used, the plug is removed and is replaced by a nozzle tube which is fitted into the bore.
The nozzle tube is closed at one end, is hollow, has a hole therein communicating with the body interior, and at the other end has a nozzle outlet slit from which the resin is dispensed as a fine narrow ribbon, when pressure is applied to the piston. The pressure may be applied to the piston by mechanical means or by fluid pressure, specifically compressed air.
As the resin is dispensed, the cartridge is moved along the line of the crease of the garment, either by manual judgement, or by machine, the nozzle slit lying along the line of the crease.
When the cartridge is exhausted of resin, it is thrown away. However, it is often the case that a cartridge may be used periodically depending upon demand, and when it is not in use, but still retains some useable resin, it is stored.
The system has been successful and the components thereof have operated satisfactorily for many years, but there is now a demand for better performance, in that in attempts to prevent the resin at the nozzle outlet from hardening, for example by being left exposed to the atmosphere when stored, it has become the recommended practice to put the cartridge when stored in a cradle device so that the nozzle tip lies in a bath of oil. The oil prevents the air from coming into contact with the nozzle tip, and so prevents the residual resin in the nozzle tip from curing.
This use of oil is not really satisfactory in that the oil may be spilled if the cradle is knocked, and also there is the possibility that the oil will come into contact with the garment being treated, which can result in an undesired staining of the garment, and removal of the stain requires the use of solvent or requires dry cleaning. This is a considerable disadvantage to the person providing the permanent creasing service.
A major difficulty with the existing cartridge arrangements is the keeping of the nozzle slit in alignment with the crease and the body of the cartridge. Although various means have been tried, as these nozzles tend to be used in a rough way by operatives, it happens that the nozzle slit becomes out of alignment with crease by becoming twisted relative to the body, and the result is that the resin is not applied in the correct manner rendering the process inefficient at best and useless at worst.
Again, in some machines the cartridge is suspended to lie with the length direction extending vertically, with the cartridge free to swing to a limited extent as the garment, usually trousers, is pulled vertically past the cartridge. This swinging is needed to allow the cartridge to accommodate the widening shape of trousers from bottoms to the waistband. Conventional cartridges have not been able to operate totally effectively in such machines.
Additionally, when use is made of compressed air to force the piston along the body for the dispensing of the resin, a removable plug is placed in the end of the body to enable the connection of the air supply, and that plug must make air tight contact with the body for the driving by the compressed air to be effective. This can cause a problem, and special coupling devices are needed. These coupling devices are difficult to insert and remove properly, and operators find them difficult to work with as they are or soon become very tight.
If the piston is made from a resilient material, it is possible for the piston to deflect, allowing air to pass the piston and to make contact with the resin to be dispensed, and again this impairs efficiency.
Finally, by the use of a removable plug to form the mounting for the air supply coupling, there is the possibility that the cartridges can be refilled by removing the plug. Refilling of the cartridges is not recommended, as invariably there will be residue of resin from the first filling which may be cured, and can cause inefficiencies in cartridge operation, leading to unsatisfactory results. Also, air can become trapped in the cartridge which causes a resin quality problem, and for best results in any event a used cartridge should be cleaned before reuse.
The present invention aims to provide an improved cartridge and cartridge/nozzle combination which has/have a number of novel and inventive features which overcome the difficulties mentioned above. The cartridge is also easier to make, and is easier to use.
According to the invention there is provided, in a first aspect, a cartridge for or containing a fluent composition to be dispensed therefrom through an aperture of the cartridge, said cartridge comprising a one piece plastic moulding defining a body containing or for containing the composition having an integral dispensing nozzle the outlet of which forms the aperture of the cartridge and is in the form of a narrow slit for dispensing a ribbon of fluent composition into a crease in a garment or a fabric.
Preferably, the body is elongate and the slit extends in the direction of the length of the body.
Preferably, the nozzle is in the form of a narrow tongue projecting from the body at one end thereof.
Also, according to the invention there is provided, in a second aspect, a cartridge and nozzle combination for dispensing a fluent composition, said cartridge comprising a one piece plastic moulding defining a body containing or for containing the fluent composition and an integral tongue projecting therefrom, said tongue having a bore therethrough, said nozzle being adapted to be non rotatably received on the tongue, and comprising a sleeve portion which is adapted to be received in the tongue bore and which nozzle also has a bore passing through said sleeve portion leading to an outlet in the form of a narrow slit for dispensing a ribbon of fluent composition into a crease in a garment.
Preferably, the nozzle sleeve bore is of constant cross section in the shape of the narrow slit, and it is also preferred that the body is elongate and has the tongue at one end thereof, and the nozzle slit extends in the direction of the length of the body when the nozzle is received in the tongue.
In one arrangement, the tongue is narrower in one direction than in the other, and the tongue lies with its wide direction lying in the length direction of the body.
It is preferred that there is a range of sizes of nozzle, each having a different width of slit for the dispensing of different widths of ribbon of fluent material, and particular advantage is gamed by providing that the nozzle or each nozzle has gripping means whereby the nozzle can be gripped and removed from or inserted into the cartridge tongue.
When the nozzle is inserted in the tongue, it is preferred that its sleeve portion is in the tongue bore and the gripping means is to the outside of the tongue.
A preferred part of the invention provides that the nozzle and tongue have inter-engaging catch means to prevent the nozzle from being forced out of the tongue in use, and the catch means comprises a catch bead on at least one of the nozzle and tongue so that when the nozzle is applied the nozzle or tongue has to be snapped over the catch bead.
The cartridge may have integral guide means thereon in the form of one or more fin formations which is or are adapted to lie in the crease to which the fluent material is to be applied, and the fin formation or fin formations may be aligned with the nozzle slit when the nozzle is inserted into the tongue. Specifically, the body defines an axis extending in the length direction, and there are at least two fin formations which are spaced apart lengthwise of the body, and of which the edges which lie in the crease of the garment lie in a plane which lies at a slight angle to the said body axis. This provides that the cartridge and nozzle assembly can more easily be held stable during use. When the nozzle is inserted into the tongue, it projects further from the body than the fin formations.
To ensure best application of resin to the crease, the end of the nozzle having the slit lies at a slight angle to the body axis.
By the various features of the invention, the achievement of ensuring exact and fixed alignment of the nozzle with the body axis can be achieved, and by making the fin formations integral with the body, further alignment security is achieved. Of particular advantage is that the nozzle is of narrow shape (narrow rectangular in cross section) with a bore of constant cross section in the shape of the slit, which fits into the narrow tongue bore (of the same narrow rectangular cross section as the sleeve of the nozzle). This ensures exact alignment and avoidance of turning of the nozzle relative to the body, and the achievement of more consistently efficient operation of the process. The fin formation and design ensure more stability of the cartridge when being moved manually and ensure more consistent results in the process where the cartridge is suspended for swinging movement as discussed above, by inclining the fin formation edges relative to the body axis. The nozzle slit being held securely in alignment with the body axis, and the fin formations also being so held, provides for a most exact and controlled application of the crease setting composition, not achievable in the prior art.
Also, by providing a sleeve portion which enters the tongue of the cartridge, when the cartridge is filled with resin, the cartridge can be stored without using the oil bath, in that the nozzle bore is narrow, and the small amount of resin in the that bore can be allowed to harden (but the resin in the body of the cartridge will not), and the nozzle can simply be removed and replaced with another when the cartridge is again to be used. As an alternative, a small removable bung may be provided which is pushed into the nozzle bore when the cartridge is not in use.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a cartridge comprising a plastics material body containing fluent material to be dispensed, a piston in the cartridge body at one end thereof for the dispensing of the fluent material from the other end of the body by the application of fluid under pressure on the piston, and a cap permanently sealed to the body at said one end, said cap having an integral fluid pressure connection by which the fluid pressure source can be connected to the cartridge to drive the piston.
Preferably where the cap is sealed to the body it has a stepped cross section, and the body has a corresponding stepped cross section, so that the cap and body at the sealed region fit together in an overlapping fashion, the overlapping parts being sealed together, and the stepped portion of the cap may lie to the outside or inside of the stepped portion of the body. The cap of body may additionally be held together by being screwed, bayonet or otherwise fitted together, and the parts may be additionally connected by a layer of the resin therebetween.
By permanently sealing the cap to the body, refilling is prevented, and also there is no danger of the atmosphere reaching the resin at that end of the cartridge body.
The various aspects of the invention can be used independently of one another or in any combination.